Species Type:
Fishes
Common Name(s):
Red drum
Size:
Red drum grow to an average of 40 inches long. The largest red drum caught in Florida weighed over 52 pounds!
Diet:
The diet of the red drum includes fish, such as mullet, pinfish, and killifish, as well as invertebrates.
Range & Habitat:
Red drum can tolerate a wide range of temperature and salinity. As juveniles, they are mainly found in estuaries and river mouths, but as they age, they will move into open coastal waters. They return to estuaries and shallow waters to spawn. They can be found in nearshore waters of the western Atlantic from Maryland to Florida, as well as throughout the Gulf of Mexico.
Details:
Red drum, or redfish, are a popular sport fish in Florida. They have a coppery bronze color that fades to white on their belly and often feature one or more black spots near their tail, a defense mechanism to confuse predators. Unlike black drum, red drum lack barbels (whisker-like feelers) on their lower jaw.